Man accused of driving stolen trackhoe into Alberta RCMP detachment, damaging police cruisers

An incident in Bonnyville, two-and-a-half hours northwest of Edmonton, is turning heads.

Saturday just before 7 p.m., a 62-year-old man allegedly drove a stolen trackhoe into the parking lot of the Bonnyville RCMP detachment.

According to RCMP, the suspect had stolen the trackhoe from a business, causing significant damage when he drove through a fence.

Police say after stealing the trackhoe, the man headed to the RCMP detachment, picking up boulders along the way; he then dumped them in front of the prisoner bay of the detachment. Authorities believe it was an attempt to delay officers’ ability to respond to calls.

The suspect then drove the trackhoe into five unoccupied parked police vehicles, making them inoperable. The suspect then fled from the detachment on foot, according to police.

RCMP say a police dog helped locate the suspect hiding in a tree line just northwest of the detachment. Police say the man fought officers during the arrest, and the suspect was bitten by the police dog as a result; he was treated for those injuries in hospital.

“Incidents like this can be frightening for communities,” said Detachment Commander Staff Sgt. Sarah Parke. “In this instance, we believe there was no threat to the public and the RCMP was the target. Alberta RCMP officers from neighbouring detachments did not hesitate to assist to ensure the suspect was quickly taken into custody.”

David Merko, a resident of Bonnyville, has been charged with 13 criminal offences, along with a charge of uttering threats from an April 17 phone call with detachment, where police allege he threatened to kill officers. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The incident garnered a lot of attention on social media.

“Unfortunately, a lot of those comments were negative, and even threatening towards to RCMP,” said Parke. “So, it wasn’t bad enough that the incident happened and then we are dealing with the snowball social media to the point where people were saying it’s a shame that RCMP members weren’t injured or killed… so it was really disheartening.”

Alberta RCMP say they have seen a steady increase in violence towards police in recent years. Most recent statistics indicate that on average there are 2.3 incidents of violence occurring every day towards Alberta RCMP officers. In 2023, 70 Alberta officers were injured because of use of force incidents.